Scottish Executive

Audiology

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will tackle any backlog in audiological assessments in the Grampian NHS Board area and how this will impact on the Executive's targets for outpatient waiting times.

Mr Tom McCabe: Reducing waiting is a priority for the Executive. This was set out in the health white paper, Partnership for Care . On Friday 13 June the Minister for Health and Community Care launched the Outpatient Action Plan which will help Scotland achieve the maximum wait of 26 weeks for outpatient appointments by 2005.

  The Executive made a commitment to modernise audiology services in response to the Public Health Institute Report, NHS Audiology Services in Scotland.

  We have asked NHS boards to develop modernisation action plans for hearing aid services, and an additional £1.5 million was made available earlier this year for the purchase of new audiology equipment. Seven hundred and fifty thousand pounds was made available during 2002-03 to reduce waiting times.

  In 2003-04 boards will receive an average increase of 7.8% in their budget allocations. We expect boards to use some of this funding to help implement these plans. In addition the Executive is making £8 million of central funding available over the next four years to support the modernisation process, and will appoint a project manager to facilitate and co-ordinate modernisation over the next two years.

Audiology

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when undergraduate courses on audiology will commence.

Mr Tom McCabe: The provision of formal training in support of the recommendations on staffing contained in the Public Health Institute of Scotland report NHS Audiology Services in Scotland is currently under review and no decision has yet been made on how this will be progressed.

Children and Young People

Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it will allocate to its special educational needs budget to support school and pre-school children (a) for whom English is an additional language, (b) who are refugees and asylum seekers, (c) with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, (d) from gypsy or traveller families and (e) who are gifted or more able and how much of this funding will be allocated to each local authority, as referred to in Improving our Schools: Assessing our children’s educational needs: The Way Forward?: Scottish Executive Response to the Consultation .

Peter Peacock: The educational needs of these children and young people are, and will continue to be, supported through the provision of funds which are distributed to local authorities through grant aided expenditure. It is for individual local authorities to determine how much they allocate to each service, including special educational needs, from their unhypothecated revenue grant. Revenue grant will increase on average by 8.4% in 2003-04, with further above inflation increases in the following two years.

  Not all the children in categories (a), (b), (d) and (e) above will necessarily have special educational needs. However, in 2003-04 the Executive is providing local authorities with additional funding, for all children with special educational needs, totalling £36 million, for inclusion purposes. This figure is set to rise by a total of 35% in 2004-05, lifting our annual spend in these areas to more than £50 million per year.

  I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-832 for details of local authority net expenditure on special educational needs. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

  When the draft Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Bill is introduced to Parliament during the 2003-04 session, it will be accompanied by a financial memorandum which will detail the financial implications of the new system.

Employment

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will bring forward proposals to increase the number of skilled workers in the construction industry in Glasgow.

Lewis Macdonald: The initiatives to increase the number of skilled workers in the construction industry in Glasgow are being handled by Scottish Enterprise.

Environment

Mr Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is on light pollution.

Ross Finnie: As set out in the partnership agreement, the Executive is committed to reduce light pollution and save energy by specifying appropriate lighting standards. The Executive intends to develop and publish guidance on public lighting which will meet these aims.

Environment

Mr Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice is given to local authorities regarding the installation or replacement of street lights and reducing light pollution.

Ross Finnie: One of the commitments in the partnership agreement is to reduce light pollution and save energy by specifying appropriate lighting standards. The Executive intends to develop and publish guidance on public lighting which will meet these aims.

Environment

Mr Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to reduce unnecessary night lighting such as decorative flood lighting, shop lights, lighting on advertising boards and sports floodlighting.

Ross Finnie: One of the commitments in the partnership agreement is to reduce light pollution and save energy by specifying appropriate lighting standards. The Executive intends to develop and publish guidance on public lighting which will meet these aims.

  Where the installation of lighting may be subject to planning controls a planning authority may take action to reduce any potential adverse effects from the development. This might include imposing suitable planning conditions to prevent or minimise light pollution.

Environment

Mr Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce legislation to control light pollution.

Ross Finnie: The Executive has no plans to introduce legislation to control light pollution.

  I refer the member to the answers given to questions S2W-1181 to S2W-1183 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Environment

Mr Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has carried out into light pollution and its effects.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive has not commissioned any research into light pollution.

National Health Service

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to attract consultants from other parts of the United Kingdom and abroad; what success it has had in attracting such consultants to the NHS, and in what disciplines it has attracted them.

Malcolm Chisholm: I launched the concept of "Careers for Health" at the HR Conference in May 2003. This will co-ordinate national campaigns on recruitment for all professionals, including consultants ensuring effective promotion of careers in the NHSScotland. It will enable NHS boards to gain access to the widest possible range of applicants by linking in with overseas, national and local recruitment campaigns.

  The recruitment and appointment of consultants is undertaken by NHS boards and information is not held centrally on the origin of new consultant appointees to NHSScotland organisations.

National Health Service

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review record-keeping practice within the NHS.

Malcolm Chisholm: We are in the process of reviewing guidance on the retention, storage and destruction aspects of medical record keeping practice and revised guidance will issue in due course.

National Health Service

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many posts there are for trainee orthopaedic consultants; whether any representations have been made to increase the number of such consultants, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information provided by NHS Education for Scotland is that there were 57 specialist registrars in post in trauma and orthopaedic surgery at 31 March 2003. There has been an increase of seven posts over the past two years with the intention to increase by a further four in the current year bringing the expansion to 11 posts over the three year period.

  In addition there are a small number of academic posts which are also training for a future consultant role.

  Planned expansion in the trauma and orthopedic surgery training posts has been in response to service pressures including waiting times.

National Health Service

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to implement its targets for out-patient waiting times in specialities where there are staff shortages.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Outpatient Action Plan, launched on 13 June 2003, will help NHSScotland achieve the national maximum waiting time target of six months for a first outpatient appointment following GP referral, by 2005. The Centre for Change and Innovation will drive the implementation of the plan through a co-ordinated programme of service redesign, piloting and rolling out good practice across NHSScotland.

  In the past year the National Workforce Unit and the National Workforce Committee have been established as part of the Scottish Executive’s workforce development strategy. These bodies are now working with NHSScotland to develop new approaches to the way NHSScotland plans, develops and utilises its workforce at a national, regional and local level. The Partnership Agreement makes a commitment which aims to increase the number of consultants across the specialties by 600 by 2006.

Nature Conservation (Scotland) Bill

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will introduce its proposed bill on nature conservation.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive will introduce the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Bill to the Scottish Parliament later this year, as announced by the First Minister in his statement on 28 May.

Nature Conservation (Scotland) Bill

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many responses it received to its consultation on Nature Conservation (Scotland) Bill - A draft for consultation and, of these, how many were (a) broadly supportive and (b) opposed in principle.

Ross Finnie: : One hundred and forty one responses have been received in response to the consultation on the draft Nature Conservation (Scotland) Bill. Of this total (a) 128 are broadly supportive and (b) seven are opposed in principle.

  The remaining six respondents did not comment on the proposals in the Bill.

School Curriculum

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure the availability of modern studies course options to higher level in every secondary school.

Euan Robson: There is no statutory national curriculum in Scotland. It is therefore for education authorities and schools to decide on the course options they provide.

Scottish Executive Publications

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the Scottish submission to Her Majesty’s Government’s consultation document, A Modern Regional Policy for the United Kingdom , and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish European Structural Funds Forum response to the UK Government consultation A Modern Regional Policy for the United Kingdom is available on the Scottish Executive web site at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/esf. This response, along with other responses to the consultation from Scottish partners, will be published in due course by the Department for Trade and Industry on their web site http://www.dti.gov.uk.

Scottish Water

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the rate of water leakage from Scottish Water’s water mains pipes is and what information it has on what the leakage rates are for (a) English and (b) Welsh water companies.

Ross Finnie: I have asked Dr Jon Hargreaves, Chief Executive of Scottish Water to respond. His response is as follows:

  Due to the uncertainty in estimating current levels of leakage in Scotland, Scottish Water is unable to confirm a leakage estimate that is as reliable as those in England and Wales, but the table shows leakage estimates for Scotland based on June 2002 assessments compared to those in England & Wales for the same period.

Scottish Water

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what modelling has been undertaken to quantify cost savings that could be made if significant reductions in water leakage from mains pipes were made.

Ross Finnie: I have asked Dr Jon Hargreaves, Chief Executive of Scottish Water to respond. His response is as follows:

  As part of its area water strategies, Scottish Water considers all options for an area and this includes the impact of reducing leakage. If these strategies indicate that leakage reduction is a viable option for reducing costs and improving services, then investment options which are being developed will include solutions to address leakage in that particular area.

  Scottish Water is also currently carrying out a comprehensive evaluation of the impact and scale of leakage which will provide detailed information for quantifying overall costs and evaluating the impact of leakage on operations, benchmarking performance against English and Welsh companies, and ensuring investment is targeted to those areas where active leakage control is proven to achieve operational and capital efficiencies.

Scottish Water

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what attempts Scottish Water has made to reduce water leakage from mains pipes.

Ross Finnie: I have asked Dr Jon Hargreaves, Chief Executive of Scottish Water to respond. His response is as follows:

  Between 2002 and 2006, Scottish Water is replacing in excess of 3,000 kilometres of water mains and this work is prioritised across Scotland to ensure improvements are made in those areas most affected by problems such as frequent bursts or other factors affecting the reliability of water services to customers.

  Scottish Water is committed to a cost effective, robust and achievable leakage policy and is in the process of developing a more detailed understanding of the optimum levels of leakage and cost implications which will ensure investment is targeted to those areas where active leakage control is proven to achieve operational and capital efficiencies. Scottish Water is developing information about leakage by District Metered Areas (DMAs) which will support the development of area-specific leakage policies. District metered areas are being established on 60% of the water network, and this includes Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire, Argyll and Bute, Dumfries and Galloway, Inverness, Fife and Dundee.

  In many of these areas, Scottish Water has already developed leakage policies. Leakage reduction projects are currently underway in Fife and Glasgow, with further projects planned in the Black Esk and Inverness. Other smaller leakage initiatives are planned as part of investment being carried out to improve drinking water quality.

Scottish Water

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much water would be saved per day if Scottish Water reduced its water leakage levels from mains pipes to the average of (a) English and (b) Welsh water companies.

Ross Finnie: I have asked Dr Jon Hargreaves, Chief Executive of Scottish Water to respond. His response is as follows:

  Due to the uncertainty of estimating current levels of leakage, Scottish Water is unable to confirm a leakage estimate that is as reliable as those in England and Wales. Scottish Water is currently carrying out a comprehensive evaluation of the impact and scale of leakage on the water network by area which will quantify the impact of leakage on operation costs, as well as benchmark performance against English and Welsh companies and allow for targeted investment in those areas where active leakage control is proven to achieve operational and capital efficiencies.

Scottish Water

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of Scottish Water’s planned new investment would not be required if it reduced its water leakage levels from mains pipes to the average of (a) English and (b) Welsh water companies.

Ross Finnie: I have asked Dr Jon Hargreaves, Chief Executive of Scottish Water to respond. His response is as follows:

  Most of Scottish Water’s investment at this time is focussed on meeting statutory requirements for drinking water quality and sewage treatment and this investment would still be required regardless of water leakage levels. Leakage is considered as part of the overall strategies for providing water services to specific areas and if these strategies indicate that leakage reduction is a viable option for reducing costs and improving services, then investment options are developed to address leakage in that particular area.

Scottish Water

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the reduction in running costs would be if Scottish Water reduced its water leakage levels from mains pipes to the average of (a) English and (b) Welsh water companies.

Ross Finnie: I have asked Dr Jon Hargreaves, Chief Executive of Scottish Water to respond. His response is as follows:

  While Scottish Water has reliable estimates of leakage and the impact on costs for certain areas, an overall estimate of the level of cost savings made by reducing leakage levels is not available at this time. Scottish Water is currently carrying out a comprehensive evaluation of the impact and scale of leakage on the water network by area which will quantify the impact of leakage on operation costs, as well as benchmark performance against English and Welsh companies and allow for targeted investment in those areas where active leakage control is proven to achieve operational and capital efficiencies. Any savings depends upon the cost to produce the water at a specific works as well as the capital and operating costs associated with reducing and maintaining leakage levels.

Scottish Water

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has met Scottish Water in order to discuss the water charge increases to small businesses and pass on any concerns of the small business sector in relation to this matter.

Ross Finnie: As minister responsible for the water industry in Scotland, I have regular meetings with Scottish Water on a wide range of issues. We discussed this at our most recent meeting on 7 July.

Scottish Water

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how Scottish Water compares with (a) English and (b) Welsh water companies in respect of operational efficiency.

Ross Finnie: The Water Industry Commissioner considered the operational efficiency of the three former water authorities compared to English and Welsh water and sewerage companies in his Cost and Performance report 2001-02 which may be found at:

  http://www.watercommissioner.co.uk/Costs%20and%20performance%202001-02.pdf

  The Water Industry Commissioner will consider the operational efficiency of Scottish Water for the year 2002-03. He will publish his analysis in due course.

Scottish Water

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what planned major infrastructure projects have been delayed because of Scottish Water having been unable to provide an adequate service to the site of the project and when water and sewerage services will be provided on these sites, broken down by structure plan area.

Ross Finnie: I have asked Dr Jon Hargreaves, Chief Executive of Scottish Water to respond. His response is as follows:

  While Scottish Water can provide information about those areas where development constraints exist due to the water and sewerage infrastructure, details are not held about delays in specific projects throughout Scotland due to these constraints.

  Scottish Water’s investment priorities for 2002-06 were set by the quality and standards process and the main priority is to meet statutory requirements for drinking water quality and sewage treatment. The determined investment level only allows for "no deterioration" of the infrastructure and very limited funding is available to support development.

  Scottish Water is currently working with local authorities and other bodies to establish development priorities and evaluate where work can be serviced by the existing water and sewerage infrastructure. This information will also be used to identify future investment priorities in the next round of the quality and standards process.

Scottish Water

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions Scottish Water has had with local authorities and Scottish Enterprise to identify key development sites where the provision of water and sewerage services is a crucial precondition for those projects being taken forward and which sites have been discussed.

Ross Finnie: I have asked Dr Jon Hargreaves, Chief Executive of Scottish Water to respond. His response is as follows:

  Scottish Water is in on-going discussions with all local authorities about key development sites and the need for water and sewerage provisions. A further round of discussions will take place shortly to gather more information and this will be used to identify future investment priorities as part of the quality and standards process. In addition, Scottish Water will be keeping the Scottish Executive, local authorities, Scottish Enterprise, developers, and housing associations informed about any development constraints.

Scottish Water

Campbell Martin (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what involvement it has had in Scottish Water's proposals for a sewage treatment plant at Millport, Isle of Cumbrae; what its position is on the amount of local concern in respect of the level of consultation undertaken by Scottish Water on the matter and in relation to the accuracy of certain aspects of the case presented by Scottish Water to North Ayrshire Council with regard to its planning application, and whether the Executive would be prepared to call in this planning application in order to ensure that every aspect of the application can be investigated and the public of the Isle of Cumbrae can have confidence in the decision reached

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive has no involvement in this issue which is an operational matter for Scottish Water. However, our understanding is that Scottish Water and its predecessor, West of Scotland Water, have had considerable involvement with the community while plans at Millport have been developed and Scottish Water has kept residents informed by regularly attending community council and other public meetings.

  Responsibility for dealing with planning applications and local planning matters rests, in the first instance, with the planning authority. I understand following consideration of the planning application that North Ayrshire Council granted consent to the development, subject to conditions on 7 July. Now that planning permission has been granted the Scottish ministers have no locus to intervene.

  What is clear is that investment is needed at Millport to meet urban wastewater treatment regulations. While the deadline for this is December 2005, improvements need to be in place before the 2004 bathing season starts to ensure Kames Bay meets standards set under the bathing waters directive.

Student Loans

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to raise the financial eligibility cut-off points for student loans.

Mr Jim Wallace: Under the student support arrangements, all students undertaking an eligible course (with the exception of those who have defaulted on a previous student loan agreement) are entitled to receive a minimum level of a means tested student loan regardless of their family income.

  We are currently conducting a review of funding of learners which will look at all aspects of financial support available to learners through further and higher education student support, educational maintenance allowances and the new individual learning accounts.

  We are also assessing a number of issues in the Department for Education and Skills white paper including a proposal to increase the student loan repayment threshold from £10,000 to £15,000 with effect from 2005-06.

Student Loans

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether student loan regulations act as a deterrent for children of large households attending university.

Mr Jim Wallace: Student loans have been a key part of an affordable student support system since their introduction in 1990. Where a student is undertaking full-time higher education and has at least one brother or sister, the assessed parental contribution towards his or her living cost support is reduced by £160 for each additional child in the household and the balance is split equally between each student being supported.